


Art of Fancying

by unknowableroom_archivist



Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: Marauders' Era, One Shot
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2005-11-05
Updated: 2005-11-05
Packaged: 2019-01-19 21:00:18
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 792
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12418065
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/unknowableroom_archivist/pseuds/unknowableroom_archivist
Summary: A certain bespectacled and raven-haired boy tries to hide his fancying from his three best friends. Like that's going to work. Snapshot of a thirteen-year-old James Potter and company.





	Art of Fancying

**Author's Note:**

> Note from ChristyCorr, the archivist: this story was originally archived at [Unknowable Room](http://fanlore.org/wiki/Unknowable_Room), a Harry Potter archive active from 2005-2016. To preserve the archive, I began manually importing its works to the AO3 as an Open Doors-approved project after May 2017. I e-mailed all creators about the move and posted announcements, but may not have reached everyone. If you are (or know) this creator, please contact me using the e-mail address on [Unknowable Room collection profile](http://www.archiveofourown.org/collections/unknowableroom).

**Art of Fancying**

**In short:** A certain bespectacled, raven-haired boy attempts to hide his fancy. Quick snapshot of a thirteen-year-old James Potter and friends.

**Disclaimer:** I most certainly don’t own anything or anyone. *points at J.K. Rowling* SHE DID IT! *stops pointing because pointing is rude...*

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Last month, I, James Potter, started fancying Lily Evans.

It was quite pathetic, really. Not in the sense that Evans was not worth fancying (Horrors that you should conceive the thought!), but rather my behavior was quite pathetic.

At thirteen years of age, who knows what’s going on inside a bloke’s head?

Not me.

Now, do _not_ get any wrong ideas. Yes, I can fully confirm that I am of the male sex, thank you very much. She was most certainly not the first girl I ever was attracted to, but she was, in my own humble opinion, the first _real_ object of my fancy.

I was thirteen, young, inexperienced in the field of pursuing girls, and hence I was shy about it.

Yeah, me, James Potter, shy. It even sounds weird—my name and the word “shy” in the same sentence.

I did my best not to look at her at all during lessons, because I knew my mates would notice, especially Sirius. He would never stop the teasing. I would turn my head the other way if I caught a glimpse of that brilliant fiery hair, only to let my eyes wander back. She was just so… _magnetic_. I tried to casually slide my gaze over her casually in the Great Hall during meals and in the common room in the evenings.

I felt weird when my friends mentioned her in passing. (“Evans probably got the best marks on that test.”) My tongue got tied, and I poked at my food or leafed through my Potions book until the subject changed.

When I heard her answer questions in class, I doodled randomly on my notes. I didn’t want to be accused of staring at her (even though, now that I think of it, the natural reaction of a classmate _is_ to look at the speaker).

Going against all signs of fancying someone is a surefire way to get your mates to accuse you of fancying that someone. (Oh, cruel irony.) Sirius figured it out within a week, and his method of embarrassment this time was mentioning it to me casually in our dormitory one night. In front of Remus and Peter, of course.  


“Oy, James.”

“Yeah?”

“You know that girl, Evans?”

I felt my heart thud just a bit quicker, louder at her surname. _Play it cool_. “Y—yeah.” I paused and turned a page in my Quidditch magazine. (Oh, would you look at that broom!) “What about her?” My voice somehow came out more steadily than I thought it would.

“You fancy her?”

His tone was lazy, but I could see that sloppy grin on his face in my mind’s eye.

He knows. He knows, he knows, he knows! Oh, _Merlin_.

“I—uh—”

_Look at him. People don’t think you’re lying when you look in their eyes._

Yeah, right. This is _Sirius_ we’re talking about here.

“You fancy _Evans_?” Peter asked incredulously. His big blue eyes were wide with astonishment. And I saw Remus’ lips twitching, though his eyes were firmly fixed on his Arithmancy homework.

This was _not_ a laughing matter!

“Out with it, then,” Sirius prodded.

“What?” I asked, hoping against all hope that the subject would hurry up and change already. Or maybe I could perform a Memory Charm on all three. At the same time. Subtly.

Curses. My wand’s on the other end of the bed. Retrieving it would earn suspicious glances.

“Come to think of it,” Peter joined in. “You’ve been acting funny all week, especially in Potions.”

I sat only one row behind her in Potions. It was really, _really_ difficult trying to not look at her in that class.

“Oh, come off it,” Remus chuckled. “If James doesn’t want to admit that he fancies Lily, he’s not going to.”

Thank you, Remus!

“That’s right,” I declared automatically.

Remus grinned a bit wider, and, after a beat, Sirius started laughing into his pillow.

I realized the implications of my last two words. I was tricked! I might have just as well said, “Yes. I fancy Lily Evans like no tomorrow.”

Bloody—

I hope Remus fails that Arithmancy homework.

**_Finis_ **

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ 

**A/N:** Alright, that was fun. I love writing James. He’s such a multi-dimensional character. In so many wonderful stories, he’s portrayed in so many ways. This was meant to be short, like a snapshot of James. Not a fully painted portrait, more like a quick pencil sketch—a doodle. Hope you liked it. Review please!

.mische. 


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